Corner lock for bedsteads



- UNITED STATES Patented Mar. 27, 1934 a w 4 PATENT OFFICE ,4;

. c v CORNER LooK on BEDSTEADS Henry Richardson, Chicago, Ill.

Application August 25, 1930, Serial No. 477,536

4 Claims.

This invention relates to what are commonly known as corner locks or joints for bedsteads and similar articles of furniture, the same com-- prising the instrumentalities by, which a side rail I fora bedstead or bed-spring is separably connected to a bed end;

a The primary object of this invention is to progvide a very simple and improved bed corner lock .which,'-in its preferred form as shown herein and described, is composed of nothing more than a length of angle bar and an angular post plate comprising a flange adapted for attachment to .a bed post and a second flange at the outer side thereof and at right angles thereto, the second flange having an upwardly opening slot therein forming an edge downwardly and inwardly inclined toward the post, said rail having its vertical flangeadjacent the second mentioned flange and on the inner side thereof, and having a portion of the vertical flange offset intothe slot, and the offset portion having an edge portion thereof contacting against the said inclined edge to wedge and hold the adjacent end of the side rail against the post flange of the post plate. Such an engagement greatly simplifies the joint .and increases its efliciency by doing away with studs, plates or any other form of wedging attachment member on either said bar or post plate and by providing an improved means for wedging the vertical member of an angle bar to a post plate which give a rigidity to the wedged parts of said bar and plate that is free of any dependence upon either the strength or tightness of connecting means used to attach a wedging memher to either a side rail or bracket.

, The outstanding feature of thepresent construction lies in the rail wedging means employed, which consists solely of an upwardlyv opening slot in the projecting flange ofi a post plate formed with an edge downwardly and inwardly inclined toward the post, and a laterally offset portion of the vertical limb or flange of the side rail that enters the slot, the said offset portion having an edge portion thereof contacting against the said inclined edge to wedge and hold the adjacent end of the side rail against the post flange of the post plate, the vertical limb or flange of said rail lying against the inner side of the slotted flange of said post plate.

A very important commercial advantage of the present construction, as herein shown, is that, since only punch press operations are required to construct the entire look, its cost is very much less than that of any lock in which studs or 3M some other form of rail wedging members must be attached either to a side rail or bracket plate, before the wedging joint can be obtained. Ihe simplicity and efficiency of the means by which a side rail may be invertible and reversible will be seen by a reference to the drawing. 0

Still other objects and advantages ofthe invention will be apparent to persons skilled in the art to which the invention pertains, as the same becomes better understood by reference-to the following detailed description taken in connec- '65 tion with the accompanying drawing illustrating practical embodiment of the invention and in which r Fig. is an outer side elevation of a fragment of a bed post, a corner bracket or angular post plate, and an angle side rail" equipped with my improved look as viewed from the left of Fig. 2. i r

' Fig. 2 is a top plan view of Fig. 1, in horizontal section through the corner post. a 1

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the angularpost plate or bracket. 1

Fig. 4 is a front elevation, in section through the side rail, showing the latter mounted in end.- wise reversed and inverted position wherein it is adapted to support bed springs or slats. Referring to the drawing, 13 designates the corner post of the bedstead frame,-in. this im stance shown as a tubular structure, although a square or other form of post may be used with my improved corner fastening, the configuration of the post being immaterial. The angular post plate or corner bracket, shown in perspective detail in Fig. 3, comprises a flange 14 adapted for attachment to the bed post 13 and in this instance having its intermediate portion curved or bowed transversely as shown at 14', to fit the corner post, and an integral flange 15 at-the outerside-thereof and at right angles thereto. This flange 15 is formed withan upwardly opening slot 21 there,- in that has an edge 21' downwardly and inwardly inclined toward the post 13. On the outer face of the post flange 14 is a vertical stop lug 1'7 formed out of said flange and spaced from the side flange 15 by a distance substantially equal to the thickness of the vertical limb of the side rail that engages with the angular post plate, for a purpose later described. To produce this angular post plate only one blanking and one shaping operation are required. The side rail of the bed frame or spring frame may be an angle bar as shown, the vertical limb or flange of said angle bar being designated by 18 and the horizontal limb by 19. On the outer side of the vertical limb 18 is an integral wedge rib 20 that consists of a portion of said vertical limb or flange that is offset into the slot 21 and preferably has an inclined rectilinear edge that, as shown in Fig. 1, is substantially perpendicular or square to the outer surface of the vertical flange, and coacts against the inclined edge 21 of the side flange l5 to wedge and hold the adjacent end of the side rail against the post flange of the post plate. When the side rail is thus wedged against the postplate, the stop lug 17 overlaps the inner side of the vertical limb of the side rail in the manner clearly shown in Fig. 4, and thus locks said vertical limb against inward displacement from th side flange 15 of the post plate.

Where it may be desired to provide the corner fastening for a side rail occupying either an upright position, as shown in Fig. 1, or an endwise reversed and inverted position, asshown in Fig. 4, the laterally offset portion of the vertical flange of the side rail may take the form of upper and lower oppositely inclined portions 20 and 20 having oppositely inclined upper and lower rectilinear edges, one of which coacts against the inclined edge of the slot 21 in the upright position of the side rail as shown in Fig. 1, while the other coacts against a similar inclined edge at the other end of the bedstead when the side rail is inverted and turned end for end.

As the edge of the oifset of the side rail slides down the inclined edge of the slot 21 of the side flange of the post plate under the weight of the bedstead frame and the parts carried thereby, the square end of the side rail is wedged and held tightly against the post flange of the post plate, so that the side rail and post are maintained rigidly and accurately at right angles to each other. It will be observed that the entire fastening is formed out of an angle bar side rail and a simple angular post plate, without involving any added parts, such as studs, cleats, angle bar extensions, arid the like, to secure an efflcient lock, thus greatly contributing to the simplicity and cheapness of these devices.

I claim:

1. A bedstead corner fastening comprising an angle iron side rail and an angular post plate, said post plate comprising a flange adapted for attachment to a bed post and a second flange at the outer side thereof and at right angles thereto, the second flange having an upwardly opening slot therein forming an edge downwardly and inwardly inclined toward the post, said rail having its vertical flange adjacent the secand mentioned flange and the inner side thereof and having a portion of the vertical to the outer surface of said vertical flange,

said edge coacting against the said inclined edge to wedge and hold the adjacent end of the side rail against the post flange of the post plate.

2. A bedstead corner fastening comprising an angle iron side rail and an angular post plate, said post plate comprising a flange adapted for attachment to a bed post and a second flange at the outer side thereof and at right angles thereto, the second flange having an upwardly opening slot therein forming an edge downwardly and inwardly inclined toward the post, said rail having its vertical flange adjacent the second mentioned flange and on the inner side thereof and having a portion of the vertical flange offset into the slot, theoifset portion having a rectilinear edge which is substantially square to the outer surface of said vertical flange, said edge coacting against the said inclined edge to wedge and hold the adjacent end of the side rail against the post flange of the post plate, and said post flange having a stop lug overlapping the inner side of saidadjacent end of the side rail. I l I 3.- A bedstead corner fastening comprising an angle iron side rail and an angular post plate, said post plate comprising a flange adapted -for attachment to a bed post and a second flange at the outer side thereof and at rightangles'thereto, the second flange having an'upwardly 'opening slot therein forming an edge downwardly and inwardly inclined toward the post, said rail having its vertical flange adjacent the second mentioned flange and on'the inner side thereof and having a portion of the vertical flange offset into the slot, the offset portion having oppositely inclined upper and lower rectilinear edge portions, one coacting against the said inclined edge in the upright position of the side rail and the other coacting against a similar inclined edge at the other end of the bedstead when the-side rail is in verted and'turned end for end. v

4. A bedstead corner fastening comprising an angle iron side rail and an angular post plate, said post plate comprising a flange adapted for attachment to a bed post and a second flange at the outer side thereof and at right angles thereto, the second flange having an upwardly opening slot therein forming an edge downwardly and inwardly inclined toward the past, said rail having its vertical flangeadjacent the second mentioned flange and on the inner side-thereofand having a portion of the vertical flangeoflset into the slot, the offset portion having oppositely inclined upper and lower rectilinear edge portions, one coacting against the said inclined-edge in the upright position of. the side rail and the other coacting against a similar inclined edge at the other end of the bedstead when theside rail is inverted' and turned end for end, and said post flange havinga stop lug overlapping the inner side portion of the side rail.

HENRY RICHARDSON. 

